The Choices We Make
by sperare92
Summary: Yassen is alive and wants Alex to become an assassin He will stop at nothing to get him. How will Alex react to Yassen being alive? will our favourite teen turn from MI6 to befriend an assassin? What would happen if Alex's secret was revealed to the world
1. Dead Man Walking

Diclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. If i did, you would be reading this story at Chapters, not on the internet.

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Dead Man Walking 

The man ran harder, faster, pushing himself further than he ever had before. His already bursting lungs were ready to fail any second and his heart was beating a mile a minute, working overtime with both adrenaline and fatigue.

The man, although beginning to feel faint from near exhaustion, never slowed down. He had been running for over an hour, but his pursuers were gaining on him, and getting closer. With a final burst of speed the man increased the distance between himself and the men chasing him. For a moment, it really seemed like he was going to get away, until he tripped over his own foot and landed on his face.

"Gotcha." One of his pursuers roughly dragged him off the ground by his hair, twisting his arms painfully behind his back. The man's breathing was ragged and was coming in great gasps. His previous energy had all but left him, and he was reduced to leaning on his captor for support.

"That's not good enough, Healer, and I'm afraid you can do no better." The cold voice spoke clearly. It belonged to the man who was fast approaching. He had short, fair, close cropped hair complimented by chilling blue eyes. One look into those merciless eyes could chill you to the bone. The man held captive was currently looking into those eyes, and he knew they would be the last thing he saw. He knew that begging for mercy would be fruitless, only making for a more painful death. Needless to say, the man remained silent. Considerably pale and sweating profusely, yes, but silent none the less.

"What do you want us to do with this slowpoke boss?" The man held the prisoner in a headlock, having not yet made the connection that his "prisoner" was on deaths row.

BANG!

The "slowpoke" was dead before he hit the ground. Yassen Gregorovich lowered his gun, making no attempt to avoid the puddle of blood that was slowly forming around his feet.

"Clean up the body. Now." Yassen turned his back on the bloody scene, not at all fazed that he had just committed cold-blooded murder. After all, murder came easy for Yassen, he did it every day.

As for Yassen himself, he was already classified as a dead man. After faking his death on Air Force One, Yassen had gone underground. No one, not MI6, the CIA, or even Scorpia knew of his existence. And so Yassen had begun to form his own organization. He trained his own men and handpicked his own assassins. He was known only as Boss or Sir to them. There was no way that Yassen was going to jeopardize the freedom that "death" offered him. As long as no one knew he was alive, no one would be trying to stop him. However, Yassen only wanted the best of the best to be working under him, and so he had fashioned "tests" for the assassins in training to complete. These tests were designed specifically to tell Yassen whether the trainee would make it or break it in the crime life. The man Yassen had just killed was a trainee. Needless to say, he had failed his test.

Yassen's organization would be the deadliest, most sought after, and most notorious organization in all the world. Black Ace. He would make certain that when people heard that name whispered on the street, pure terror would enter their hearts, and that they would die of apprehension awaiting an attack. Yes Yassen Gregorovich was a sadistic man with dreams to fill and worlds to conquer, he just needed the right assassin under his hand. And he had just the person in mind.

"Alex Rider where are you?" The assassin's eyes were cold as he surveyed the computer screen in front of him. _Brookland Elementary, London England._Yassen reflected on how truly amazing it was that you could find just about anything about anyone on the internet, if you knew where to look. Locating Alex had been a cinch, and Yassen couldn't wait to see the boy's face when he saw him. After all, Alex thought Yassen had died on that plane.

"Hold on Alex, here I come." Yassen sneered as he viewed the boy's school on the screen. It wouldn't be long now and he would have Alex in his grasp. There would not, could not, be an opportunity for the boy to escape. In less than twenty-four hours, he would belong to Yassen. And, Yassen suddenly realized, this would be an excellent time for him to announce the existence of Black Ace, and he knew exactly how to do it. Yassen knew he didn't kill children, but the world didn't know that, and they were about to get a fright!

"Porter, round up the men and show them this boy's picture. He's our prime target, but whatever you do, **do not **kill him! If anyone does it will be your life on the line. Now, it's time to have a little fun." Yassen strode purposefully towards his private jet, smiling in anticipation of finally seeing Alex.

"No one can help you now boy...you're mine, whether you like it or not."

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Well, that was an extremely short chapter and i'm sorry about that, i'll try to make them longer in the future. So, how did you like it - good? Bad? You can tell me by pressing that little button just to your left and leaving a review! 

oh, and next chapter will have Alex in it. He will be seeing Yassen, whom he beleived to be dead. How will he react? You'll have to keep reading to see :P. I hope to update soon. The second chapter is almost done!


	2. Brookland Reunion

Well, I did promise a longer chapter, so here it is. Enjoy, hope you like it.

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Brookland Reunion

Ms. Stevens stared at each student in turn, seeing each pupil hold their breath in trepidation of who she would pick to answer the difficult quadratics question displayed on the board. Although she had only been teaching this class for two months, she knew all of her students quite well. That is, all except for one—Alex Rider. To be frank, the boy puzzled her. In the short time she had been here, the boy had been absent for extended periods of time three times. And when he did finally return, he came back looking more battered, bruised, and clearly exhausted than the last time he had been there. But that was not the only matter that Ms. Stevens was worried about. Of course, the boy's condition worried her, but it was the hardness and maturity in his eyes that no fourteen-year-old should have that frightened her. It seemed to her as though the boy was constantly anxious and looking around, never letting his guard down in fear of...something. She just didn't know exactly what the boy was frightened of. She could tell he had a strength about him, both physical and mental, that hadn't been attained sitting in his room playing video games, like most of the boys his age did. However, Ms. Stevens could do nothing to help the boy apart from keep him paying attention in class. Lately his previously good grades had been slipping due to his absences, and if he wanted to attend university or college one day he needed to get them back up. So Ms. Stevens honestly saw waking Alex up to answer the maths question as helping the boy. Alex, however, did not

"Mr. Rider, answer please." Alex's head shot up from the desk and he looked around groggily while wiping saliva from his cheek. Damn that teacher, Alex thought. Waking him up in the middle of, what would have been, his first good sleep in over two weeks. After returning from his Ark Angel mission, MI6 had yet to contact Alex and it had been two weeks of Alex hoping they would never call again. However, MI6 giving Alex space had not stopped the nightmares. Ever since returning from space, Alex had been plagued by terrible nightmares, forced to relive night after night the horror of his 'adventure'. These nightmares often left him with little or no sleep. He had barely gotten a descent hour's worth of rest last night, and he was exhausted.

Alex brought his eyes up to the board, assessing the problem instantly.

"Ummm, nine, Ms. Stevens." At that moment, Alex was extremely grateful that he had the ability to be in advanced maths. The subject had always come easy to him thanks to Ian Rider. Oh, Ian. Not a day passed that Alex didn't miss his uncle. Alex couldn't help but partly blame his uncle for him being blackmailed into working with MI6. After all, If Ian had not died Alan Blunt would not have approached Alex at all. How life would be different had Alex not been contacted by MI6! _I would have been normal, _Alex thought. _My life would not be touched by such violence and death. Rather than walking into my classroom and immediately seeking exits and assessing threats, I would be worried about a math test I had that day._

Alex turned his head lazily to stare out the window, wanting to escape from his maths class. Alex found it ironic that just when MI6 was giving Alex space and letting him stay in school for a reasonable length of time, he found it too boring. _Maybe this spy thing is in my blood after all_. Alex's thoughts immediately ceased when he saw the black car drive slowly past his school. This would not normally be suspicious. After all, cars drove by the school all the time, but this was the third time Alex had seen this particular car. Alex was worried that something wasn't right, and his alert on heightened when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. He was being watched. Alex had been in these types of situations too many times not to know that feeling, and he was certain of it. Alex Rider had also developed a remarkably reliable instinct, and right now, his instinct told him trouble was coming for him. That was it, he could wait no longer. Alex had to get out of this classroom. Not ten seconds after Alex had risen from his seat, two men holding guns barged through his classroom door. Chaos immediately ensued. Some children were screaming and getting under their desks, still others were crying, seemingly unable to move, and the teacher had gone starch white, sitting down hard on her chair. In all the commotion no one noticed Alexs complete lack of emotion and perfectly calm, collected composure. Alex had faced death many times before and, although he would rather he wasn't standing among twenty-four odd innocents, this was nothing new.

"SHUT UP!" The two gunmen were immediately granted silence. Alex could have sworn that the entire room had stopped breathing. He quietly sat down in his chair, not wanting to draw attention to himself...yet.

"Everyone is going to stay calm and cooperate, and no one gets hurt." The gunman who had spoken staid by the door, while the other man began walking up and down the aisles of students.

"That's right, we don't want to hurt you, but we aren't afraid to either. If you're asking for it we'll shoot you."

_Shit, _Alex thought. These guys meant business. He needed to make sure his classmates got out of this alive. If only he had any gadgets left over from Ark Angel, they would have come in handy now. If only he had a way to contact MI6, they could be here in minutes and diffuse the situation. But there was no way and MI6 was not coming to help, this was all on Alex. He thought that if he acted as a distraction and got brought out of the room, the guards would be focussing on him only. That would give one of his classmates the chance to call for help on a cell. Yes, it had to be done. It was the only way. Once again, Alex was sacrificing himself at the expense of others.

Alex's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp rap on his desk. The gunman was right in front of him, looking the teen dead in the eye.

"Are you not afraid of me boy? You're not going to quiver under your desk like the scaredy cat that you are?"

"I prefer sitting here, actually." Although the man may not have noticed it, but Alex had just learned all he needed to know about him in those two sentences. The man was an amateur. He built up his confidence through ridiculing and terrorizing people weaker than himself. Just from looking at his stance, however, Alex could see that the man was probably a black belt and could easily take Alex out in a fight. But he had to try! He couldn't just stand idly by and watch his schoolmates get shot! And Alex did have one advantage over the man, the element of surprise. No one would be expecting a fourteen-year-old boy to fight them.

Just as Alex was lifting his fist to throw a punch, a voice came through the radio on the mans belt.

"ALL ROOMS SECURED, WHAT IS YOUR POSITION?" The man replied quickly, too quiet for Alex to hear him.

So it's not just my class, Alex thought. The attack was directed at the entire school rather than isolating him. However, there was a chance the men didn't know who he was, and he had the opportunity to act on that chance now. Before giving his captor a chance to realize what he was about to do, Alex kicked him sharply in the stomach. The kick was immediately followed by a fist to the head. The man stumbled back, not expecting the attack. Alex kicked the gun out of the man's hands before he had a chance to aim, but by now the element of surprise was over. Alex positioned himself so the man at the door could not get a clear shot at him. He then threw another punch at the gunman. The man, however, had predicted Alex's move and easily blocked it. A side kick brought Alex down, breaking two ribs as it did so. At that point Alex did the only thing he could do; he began to roll away from his attacker. Unfortunately Alex rolled right into the man standing at the door. Before he had a chance to fight, Alex was pulled up from the ground by his hair and his arms were twisted painfully behind him. Alex struggled at first but quickly learned that his attempts were fruitless; the man was just too strong. There was no way he was getting out of the vice like grip that held him.

"Well boy, you're going to pay for-" The man stopped mid sentence, eyeing Alex oddly. Was that trepidation in his eyes perhaps?

"Rider!" Alex was startled at being recognized. He didn't know these men and he was positive they weren't Scorpia. If they had been he'd have surely been dead by now. He thought that attack had been directed at the entire school rather than him alone.

"Boss we have the Rider boy. Yes...Yes, right away sir...Yes boss...immediately...we're on our way now sir." The man put down his radio, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Well Rider, looks like you're in for a treat. Ready to meet and old friend? I have to say Alex, I know all about you and having you here right in front of me, you don't look like no spy," the man held his gun to Alex's temple and smirked at him, thinking he was getting to the boy. Alex, however, was only concerned that his secret had just been given up to his classmates. He was positive someone would say something and sure enough, his teacher spoke up seconds later.

"What are you talking about? Mr. Rider here is no spy, he is merely an extremely sickly boy. Please, let him go." Alex's math teacher rose from his chair and the man holding the gun to Alex's temple stared at the teacher, a look of incredulousness and shock on his face. Alex feared that the man would shoot his teacher. Instead, however, the man burst into hysterics, clutching his stomach in laughter before straightening to face Alex.

"Ohh, Rider, is that what you've been telling them, that you're sickly?" the man went to ruffle Alex's hair but Alex moved his head away, only to be punched in the stomach. Alex doubled over in pain, trying not to be sick.

"Come on Rider, if you don't tell them I will." Alex was silent so the man continued to speak. "Dear ol' Alex here is not as frail as you all have been lead to believe." The man turned towards the students, clapping Alex on the shoulder as he did so. "All the times that Rider has been 'sick' he has actually been on missions for MI6 – I'm sure you all remember the Stormbreaker computers, well it was Alex who stopped them from being launched. He's been on six missions since then, most..." the man looked over at Alex smirking, thinking of scorpia. "...of them for MI6." Alex tried to speak but the man holding him put a hand over his mouth roughly.

"Dear, dear Alex, don't be impatient, your turn is coming, I just have one more thing to say." He then turned to Alex's classmates. "Alex Rider, your classmate, is a murderer!"

The entire class gasped, staring up at Alex with expressions of awe, fear, shock, and oddly enough, admiration.

"All right Rider, your turn. Say it's true." The hand was removed and Alex was free to talk. He sighed deeply, wishing he was anywhere else but here, doing this.

"Alright, everything he said was true. I was never sick at all, I was on missions." The class immediately began talking. People were shouting things like, "why?!"

"What?"

"Where did you go?"

"Who did you kill?!"

"Oh my God."

"Murderer!"

The sound of the gun firing was extremely loud. The class was immediately silenced, reminded of their hostage situation and the possibility of death.

"Let Rider speak." The man seemed to stare at each child individually, daring them to speak. "Another interruption like that and you're all dead." The man turned back to Alex, indicating that he carry on.

"And those murderers that were mentioned, they were justified. I only ever killed someone if it was a matter of life and death. And believe me, I wish my life had never had to come to this, I never wanted to be a spy, least of all a murderer." Alex looked away from his classmates, unable to look them in the eyes. He was finished talking. He didn't want to bring up the past any more than he already had.

"HANSSEN! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU." The voice came through the radio loud and clear, allowing the entire class to listen.

"SORRY BOSS, WE'RE ON OUR WAY." The man looked again at Alex, sneer firmly in place. "Any last words Rider? Since you won't be seeing this bunch again." The man fanned his hand across the room, indicating Alex's classmates.

Alex looked each child in the eye, a look of calm strength firmly in place. When he made eye contact with his teacher, however, his resolve left him and the true fear came through.

"You can't do this!" Alex's teacher rose from her chair, a look of panic in his eyes.

BANG

The teacher had not gone three steps when she fell to the floor, a puddle of blood quickly forming around her body.

"I said there would be no more interruptions. I mean what I say. Now I am going to stay with you kiddies while Rider is escorted out. One word out of you and you'd better have your funeral planned."

Alex looked one last time at Tom, smiling sadly as he was dragged towards the door. Tom had tears staining his cheeks as he silently said goodbye to Alex for the last time. Tom's pale face was the last thing Alex saw before the door was closed firmly behind him.

The second the man had Alex outside the room, he put him in handcuffs. Alex could feel the familiar feeling of metal cutting into his skin. He could already feel the blood seeping down his arms. The man held Alex's upper arm firmly, not speaking a word until they were at the doors of the office. Alex assumed that the 'Boss' had taken up residence here and his suspicions were confirmed by the man's words.

"Well Rider, you now get to meet the boss. I'll warn you now, he has little tolerance for heroics, so don't get any ideas." The first thing Alex saw when he walked into the office was his principal, vice principal, and secretary all handcuff and sitting on the floor, to the right of a desk. They all looked relatively shocked to see Alex being lead into the room. The second thing Alex noticed was the man sitting behind the desk. He would know those piercing blue eyes and red hair anywhere.

"Hello Alex, surprised to see me?" Yassen Gregorovich smiled at the teen. It was rare for Yassen to smile and not smirk, but seeing Alex had made him incredibly happy!

"You're dead." The words came out in a whisper and seemed to be all Alex could manage. His face had gone white and he was leaning on his captor for support. This could not be happening! Yassen Gregorovich was a man Alex hated and, although he did not like to admit it, feared. He couldn't be alive, Alex had seen him die on Air Force One. He had been shot! He had been dead! Yet Yassen was sitting in front of him, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face.

"Well Alex, I see that you've come to be a man of many words since we last spoke. Come, you know me better than that. I was not ready for death and so I did not let it claim me. Everything you saw on Air Force One was a hoax, a setup."

"But it couldn't have been. I saw you get shot, you're dead."

"The bullet's path was carefully calculated, down to the last millimetre. All vital organs were avoided."

"The blood. There was so much blood."

"Oh, Alex, I expected a spy prodigy like you to be able to tell the difference between blood and ketchup. I assure you Alex, I'm very much alive, and we'll have lots of time to finish this conversation later, seeing as how you'll be staying with me."

This information was too much for Alex. He began struggling with new found strength, screaming out for help.

"Help me, help! This man's going to kill-" Alex's screams were silenced as Yassen firmly placed his hand over Alex's mouth.

"No Alex, we'll have none of that." Yassen turned towards the man holding Alex, "gag him and put him with the others. And don't take your eyes off of him, Rider here is resourceful." Yassen smirked at Alex as a rough cloth was tied tightly around his mouth, preventing him from calling out for help again. The man, who Alex had now decided to call Handler because all he seemed to do was man handle Alex, roughly dragged him to the corner where the faculty members were tied. Instead of just leaving him lying there, however, Alex's already cuffed hands were then attached to the principal's, one cuff around Alex's and one around the principal's.

"Can't risk you going anywhere, now can we?" Handler gave Alex a particularly malicious grin, lightly slapping his face before turning back to Yassen. It was because Handler's back was turned that he didn't see the mocking and sarcastic look Alex gave him. To Yassen however, it didn't go unnoticed. The assassin just smirked at Alex in a knowing way, which only furthered Alex's gut feeling that things could only go downhill from here.

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Well, now you've read all you have to do is review!! Constructive critisism only please. If you're going to flame then don't bother reviewing at all.

It may be a little while until i am able to post the third chapter, it's taking me a while to write it. But don't worry folks, it will be up here eventually.

Review please!!!!


	3. Deception For Distraction

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. If i did, you would be reading this story at Chapters, not on the internet.

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Deception For Distraction

Alan Blunt was an extremely boring looking man. His plain grey suit and chalky complexion only assisted in making his features instantly forgettable. Appearance wise, there was nothing striking about this man. That was exactly why he excelled at what he did.

At that moment, a stout lady with short black hair and a peppermint in her mouth entered the room. A look of worry was evident on her face as she began pacing the floor in front of Blunt's desk.

"Alan what are we going to do? We can't just sit here!" 

Only ten minutes ago the heads of MI6 had received word of a hostage situation at Brookland School. Their worry was only intensified because that was the school that their youngest agent, Alex Rider, attended.

"Don't worry Tulip; our men are in their places around the school as we speak. They are set to enter the building and eliminate the enemy at my command."

What troubled Blunt was that the gunmen had yet to contact MI6. They did not yet know what the men wanted. The situation could diffuse quickly, with the men simply taking Alex and leaving (If Alex was what they had come for at all), or it could end with casualties in the hundreds. Blunt's hands were virtually tied until the gunmen contacted him.

"But what about Alex? Surely we cannot just leave him in there? He is one of our top agents!" Mrs. Jones had always held a soft spot for the young teen and right now her maternal instincts were telling her to get Alex out of that building.

"Rider will have to fend for himself. We cannot jeopardize the lives of hundreds of children to save just one. Rider knew the risks of the job when he agreed to work for us. Although he is one of our top agents, his life can be expended."

Mrs. Jones was just about to open her mouth to speak when the phone on Blunt's desk rang.

"Hello, Blunt speaking"

"Mr. Blunt, the gunmen of Brookland School are sending out a signal in thirty seconds. A television broadcasting from the school will cut across all other signals and be displayed across England. There is nothing you can do to deter this broadcasting. Oh, and it cannot be recorded, so I suggest you watch closely."

Alan slammed the phone back in its holder, showing a brief display of emotion before his face went blank. The gunmen had managed to call into his office and, even if he wasn't showing it, this scared him.

"Alan, what is it?" Mrs. Jones sounded anxious, apprehensive of her superior's answer.

"The gunmen are contacting us through a television broadcasting, which will be played across England. Watch closely."

Alan Blunt pressed the button on his desk that made the 80 inch plasma screen TV appear on his office wall. According to his watch, the broadcast was due to begin in ten seconds. He settled down in his chair and anxiously awaited the broadcasted images. For all he knew, all of England was about to witness the deaths of hundreds of schoolchildren. If that was the case, he could kiss his career goodbye. He would be fired before the broadcasting finished.

The TV screen suddenly went fuzzy, only to stop moments later, the image of a man in a black mask clearly visible. Although his eyes were the only things visible, Alan Blunt recognized him instantly. From the sharp intake of breath on the other side of the room, he knew Mrs. Jones had made a similar connection.

Yassen Gregorovich was behind the heist at Brookland School. This realization changed everything. This man was supposed to be dead, but somehow he was alive. At that moment Alan Blunt knew with renewed certainty that Alex Rider would not be walking out of that school today. Dead or alive, Yassen would have him. MI6 would have to focus on protecting the other students rather than exhaust their resources on their youngest agent.

Blunt focused once again on the screen in front of him, growing increasingly wary as the man continued to speak.

– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –

Yassen breathed a sigh of relief as the camcorder was turned off. Not only was phase two of his plan complete but the existence of Black Ace had been announced to all of England. Soon his organization would be feared across the globe.

MI6 would now follow his orders, placing their men around the school. However, there would be no men on the rooftop, and he planned to use this as his escape route. He had told Blunt to send his men in precisely fifteen minutes, or all students would be shot. Blunt will be listening to everything Yassen says. After all, only Alex knows that the assassin doesn't kill children. MI6 would be preoccupied with the lives of hundreds of schoolchildren rather than the safety of their youngest agent. Therefore, Yassen could easily get Alex out of the building. Fifteen minutes gave Yassen ample time to safely evacuate the building. His helicopter awaited him just out of sight. At the command, it could be here in seconds.

Alex shifted on the ground, trying for the umpteenth time to get comfortable. When Yassen's broadcasting had begun, Handler had moved away from him, engrossed in the assassin's words. Handler had been so engrossed, however, that he did not notice dropping the keys to Alex's cuffs. They had been dropped by the secretary, who was seated on the other side of the principal.

All Alex had to do was ask the principal to ask the secretary to pass them to him. The only complication was the fact he was gagged. He had never been good at charades, but right now it was Alex's only hope.

Alex shifted again, under the guise of getting comfortable when he actually moved closer to the principal. Alex pinched the Principal's thumb, causing him to look over at the teen. Alex looked the principal in the eyes as best he could then over at the keys on the floor. The principal looked at Alex blankly, not understanding the boy's message. Alex tried again, repeating the process then gently shaking their cuffed hands. This time the principal's eyes lit up with realization, and he subtly moved towards the secretary.

"Donna, keys," the principal could not risk saying anything more in fear of being heard. The secretary looked at the keys by her feet. Ever so slowly she picked them up with her feet and gently tossed them towards the principal. They landed right by Alex's cuffed hands. Alex tried to smile but the gag prevented him from doing so. He looked over at the principal, certain the man could see the twinkle in his eyes and take it as a smile. Alex nodded his head towards both the principal and the secretary, thanking them for taking that risk for him.

Alex's hands dug painfully into the metal as he twisted the key. He could feel the blood running down his arms as the cuffs attaching him to the principal were unlocked. The principal's eyes widened but Alex was glad to see he had the sense to remain still. It would be a shame to be caught now, Alex was so close to freedom. He tried three more keys before he found the right one to release him from the cuffs. Finally, his hands were free! Alex slipped the keys to the principal, hoping he would get the hint and unlock himself.

Alex hadn't been paying attention to Yassen's broadcast, but saw now that it was over. The assassin and the three guards were talking to each other jovially, happy that everything was going as planned. Yassen had yet to notice that Alex was unguarded and Alex planned to use this slip up fully to his advantage.

Alex got up slowly then, having not yet been noticed, slipped quickly out the door and into the hallway. He wiped the blood from his arms onto his pants, not wanting it to leave a drip trail. He had to contact MI6, but he had to save his classmates first. Alex decided that if he could take down the gunman in his classroom, then he could use the radio to confuse the other gunmen. Once the gunmen had left the rooms, Alex could lead the kids out of the school. It was an extremely risky plan. One million things could go wrong any second, but it was all he had to go on at the moment. Alex Rider began walking to his classroom.

– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –

Alan Blunt paced his office. Tulip Jones had gone to prepare the extra men that would be sent to the school as well as to position the men according Yassen's demand. Blunt could not shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Yassen was actually allowing them into the building. The entire operation was just too easy. Storm the building apprehend the gunmen, get the children to safety, capture Yassen. Something was up, and Blunt had a sneaking suspicion that Yassen was going to escape with Alex.

_Well_Alan thought, _there's hardly anything I can do. _Blunt decided to keep the men uninformed of his suspicions. They thought this was going to be a simple operation, and he was not going to lead them to believe otherwise. Rider was an excellent agent who could fend for himself. And, Blunt thought, if we let Alex be taken by Yassen we could track Yassen's location. All agents had a tracker placed on them. In Alex's case, it was on his school uniform when he attended classes. Blunt knew the boy would be wearing his uniform now, completely oblivious to the trackers existence. Blunt wasn't naive enough to believe that Yassen was going to be caught at Brookland School. But this gave them an opportunity to catch the assassin later on, when he had let his guard down.

Excellent, it was all settled then. Alex would be taken with Yassen and Yassen's location would be tracked. Blunt sat in his chair, at ease now that he had formulated a plan. The clock read 9:20, ten more minutes until MI6 would infiltrate the building.

– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –

"how the hell did he get out of those cuffs?" Yassen's face was livid, his usually pale complexion beat red with rage. Yassen looked down at the floor where Alex was supposed to be tied, and saw a glint of silver. Yassen was the epitome of calm as he bent down and picked up the keys.

The principal had thrown them there as soon as he had heard the guards approaching. He had not had enough time to undo his cuffs.

"Fredericks, where are your keys?" The man Alex called Handler visibly paled under Yassen's cold, unforgiving, yet perfectly calm gaze.

"I..uhh.u..umm..th..they..i d..dropped them, sir" The man was shaking violently, the termer in his voice preventing him from speaking coherently.

"Yes, Fredericks, you did. And I thought you were better than that."

BANG

For the second time that day Yassen watched one of his own men fall under his hand. It wasn't that he enjoyed killing his own men, he didn't, but he could have only the best of the best. Mistakes were not tolerated and the escape of Alex Rider was an extremely immense mistake.

The principal, secretary, and vice-principal were all silent, in shock from witnessing the harsh death. They were unnoticed by Yassen, however, as he quickly stormed out of the room in search of Alex. The remaining guards quickly followed, not wanting to be on the wrong side of their Boss's gun.

"All men on guard. The Rider boy is loose I the school. Keep your eyes out for him and report back to me immediately if you locate him. Do not underestimate him. He will bring you down if you do." Yassen talked into his radio as he walked. He didn't know for sure, but guessed Alex would return to his classroom.

Yassen looked at his watch and realized, in horror, that MI6 would be entering the building in seven minutes. This was not good. Yassen needed Rider and he needed him now. Play time was over. Yassen had told Alex that he loved him on that plane and he had meant it. That was why Alex was coming with him today, whether he wanted to or not. Yassen truly didn't want to hurt Alex but he needed to learn his place.

As he rounded the corner he saw exactly who he was looking for. The teen was creeping up behind the guard stationed at his classroom. He had already opened the door without the guard noticing, and now proceeded with the intent to take him out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Alex. George, there, could kill you in seconds."

Alex turned in alarm at hearing Yassen's voice. George, now aware of the teen's presence, quickly came up behind him and crushed his arms to his sides. Alex struggled, but George's hold on him was too strong. With his back to the man's chest and powerful arms encircling his chest and waist, there was nothing Alex could do to escape.

"That was a very stupid thing to do Alex"

"For you maybe, but seeing as how I'm the one kidnapped I'm sure you can understand how I didn't see my escape attempt as stupid." The teen glared at Yassen, but Yassen could detect a look of weariness in his eyes. Alex was tired of running and that was exactly how Yassen wanted him.

"Then it is very lucky that I happen to be prepared for your heroic nature," Yassen said, lifting a needle filled with tranquilizer to Alex's neck. "Sleep tight Alex, don't let the bed bugs bight"

Yassen's mocking tones were the last thing Alex heard before succumbing to the darkness. He could feel his body being lifted and thrown over a shoulder before he lost consciousness completely.

– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –

"Go, go, go, go"

The fifteen minutes were up and MI6 were in the building. They expected to be met by resistance. They had come prepared for a gunfight and casualties. Instead, they entered a school full of uninjured schoolchildren and nothing else. The only casualty had been a teacher, and the shooter was long gone.

After locking all of the classroom doors from the outside, Yassen and his men had filed into the helicopter awaiting them on the school roof. Alex was still unconscious and would remain so until they had reached their destination.

Black Ace was long gone by the time MI6 men came onto the roof.

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Thank you everyone so much for your reviews. I tried to take your advice as much as possible when writing this chapter. I know Yassen may come off a bit strong now but i hope to make him a bit softer towards Alex in the future.

Thank you all so much for reading this far. The fourth chapter is coming, though i can't say how soon because i haven't had a chance to start it yet. Any advice or constructive critisism is welcome, as this is my first Alex Rider fanfiction.

A simple review is all it takes to make my day. It is so much easier to write knowing that people are actually reading this story.

so review please!


	4. Up In The Air

Diclaimer: Hi, I'm Anthony Horowitz and I own Alex Rider. I'm also a liar. I own nothing but the plot :P

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Up In The Air

"I'm so sorry sir; they were gone when we arrived on site. The Rider boy was nowhere to be found." The leader of the operation, Agent Sonata was standing before his superior, Alan Blunt at the Royal and General Bank.

The attack on the school had been uneventful. Not only had they not been met with resistance, but all children were unharmed. Only the death of one teacher had occurred throughout the hostage scare.

Sonata himself was confused to say the least. After all, the gunmen had gone to all the trouble of broadcasting live footage of the event across England. Why would they put their effort into making threats only to retreat before they could be carried out?

Oh well, Hansen thought. He would be excused any moment now. After he finished writing the report on the situation he would be on his way home. It would be nice to see his wife and daughter after a long day of work.

"Very well, Sonata. I expect a full report on my desk before you leave here tonight. You are dismissed."

Blunt was not worried about the situation. He had expected Yassen to leave with Alex. The existence of the tracker reassured Blunt. He knew Yassen could be located with only the click of a button. Even now, as he sat here sorting through his thoughts, the tracker was transmitting Alex's location. The teen and the assassin were in Birmingham.

Hmm, still close, thought Blunt. Yassen must be hiding out in the last place anyone would think to look for him, which is anywhere remotely close to the Royal and General. Well, that wasn't going to stop him from getting caught.

For a brief moment Alan Blunt nearly let his emotions dictate his decision. He was tempted to send a ream to the location immediately, if for no other reason than to spite the assassin. Show Yassen that Blunt would always have one up on him no matter how hard he tried.

Alan Blunt's rational side, however, knew that it would be more reasonable to send a team in approximately thirty minutes. This would give the assassin the necessary time needed to let down his guard and no longer expect an attack.

Yes, blunt thought. Sooner or later Alex would be back and working for him, while Yassen would be stopped once and for all.

Little did Blunt know that the assassin was already one step ahead of him.

– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –

"Come, Alex, those clothes aren't going to take themselves off and I'm sure your old enough to undress yourself. But believe me boy; if you don't do it yourself I'll be forced to make you take that uniform off for you."

Alex had only woken up thirty minutes ago, the tranquilizer having worn off sooner than expected, but Yassen was already getting fed up with the boy.

After waking up Alex had refused to be held down. He had beat off any guard that came close to him. Since then he had either been incredibly loud or disturbingly silent. Eventually, all nine guards in the chopper had held Alex down and tied his arms behind his back. They then bound his feet and gagged him for good measure. They were all thoroughly worn out by his antics at that point.

But now the helicopter had stopped so Alex could completely strip and be given a new pair of clothes. Yassen knew MI6 wasn't above tracking their agents, and he expected Alex to have a tracking device on him now. They had landed the chopper roughly three hours before they were scheduled to reach their destination. Yassen wasn't taking any chances when it came to being found.

Alex, however, was unaware of Yassen's assumptions and didn't take to kindly to being all but thrown out of the chopper. His bonds had been cut to allow him the privilege of undressing and dressing himself. The gag had remained in place. The guards were apprehensive to remove it should Alex once again begin talking and complaining just to spite them.

The teen currently stood on the rocky ledge in bare feet. His shoes had already been disposed of. If looks could kill Yassen would surely be dead on the ground. Alex's eyes shot daggers at the assassin as he removed his school uniform. He then slowly began dressing with the clothes provided for him.

The black t-shirt fit him perfectly, showing off his toned body and developed muscles. The green army style pants fit loosely, giving him ample space to move around and fight in if need be. He wondered briefly why Yassen would provide him with perfect combat clothes, and then decided not to question his good luck.

"Come on Rider, back in the chopper we've got a ways to go yet." Yassen turned back to the helicopter and began to step in. Just before he did he turned back to Alex to say one more thing.

"Oh, and no funny business this time or your wrists will be bound so tight they'll fall off. It's your choice Alex, play nice and keep your hands, or be naughty and lose them." Yassen smirked at Alex, ruffling the teen's hair before stepping fully into the chopper.

Alex followed dutifully, knowing that any escape attempt would be futile. There was nowhere for him to run. He would bide his time. If any promising escape attempt arose, he would take it. He just had to be patient.

And with that optimist thought Alex Rider boarded the chopper that would carry him away from everything he knew and loved.

– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –

Not a full hour after the chopper had took to the air, MI6 men arrived on the site. They approached cautiously, not wanting to draw attention to themselves.

The tracker on Agent Rider was transmitting to this destination. They knew that wherever this signal transmitted, Yassen would be located. Or so they assumed.

In reality, a somewhat muddied and torn Brookland uniform was all that awaited them. Not a person was in sight and their lead on Yassen came to an abrupt end.

What the head of MI6 had failed to consider was a change of clothes. This man could bring the world crashing to an end with the snap of his fingers, yet he could not predict the possibility of his youngest agent being given a change of clothes.

Blunt mentally kicked himself upon realization that the assassin had once again eluded him, with his youngest agent in tow. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Yassen would cover all his bases. There was no way in hell that a simple tracking device would bring this man down, and it was Alan Blunt's job to understand that.

He had failed; failed himself, his company, and his agent. The outcome of the situation, once again, rested in the hands of Ale Rider. If the boy could find an opportunity to return to MI6, he could reveal the location of Yassen Gregorovich.

Blunt settled back in his chair. For the eighth time in his career, Blunt emptied his problems onto the lap of a sixteen-year-old boy.

– RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER – RIDER –

Alex could feel himself being pushed out of the chopper. More so, however, he could feel the searing pain that travelled up his arms when he put his hands up to brake his fall. After nearly seven hours of travelling in the chopper Alex was feeling more than a little woosy as his feet once again touched land.

"Come on Rider, on your feet we don't have all day." Alex had managed not to be tied up again and so he pushed himself to his feet. However, his bonds had been replaced by a blindfold when they had neared their destination so he couldn't move from where he was standing. Stupid Yassen; he knew one of Alex's greatest fears was being completely dependent on others, and the blindfold made him just that.

He was broken from his thoughts when he felt strong hands grasp his shoulders. They pushed him forward and he had no choice but to acquiesce for the time being as he allowed the person to lead him.

Even with the loss of his sight Alex could tell it was night time. A silence only darkness can bring engulfed him. It sat thick in the air not unlike smoke. Even the guards and Yassen were quiet as they approached headquarters of Black Ace.

Alex could feel the hardness under his feet and knew he was walking on pavement. He suddenly felt claustrophobic and was consumed by the overwhelming need to remove the blindfold. He reached up to take it off but the guard who was holding him pinned his arms to his sides. Alex began struggling and hyperventilating, suddenly fearing his loss of sight.

He was embarrassed by his actions. He did not want Yassen to see him as weak and made a mental note to learn to control his emotions better. Alex would be lying to himself, however, if he denied being relieved when Yassen removed the blindfold. The gag was next to come and Alex immediately spat on the ground, trying in vain to remove the musty taste from his mouth.

"Welcome to your new home Rider, you better get used to it." Alex looked around properly for the first time and saw that he was standing in the middle of a townhouse complex. Surprised was an understatement. Why in the world would an assassin have the headquarters of the most wanted international organization in the middle of a residential area?

Alex's thoughts must have shown on his face because one look at the teen and Yassen started chuckling.

"No Alex, I've not lost my mind if that's what you're thinking. I assure you I am still sane. And having HQ in a residential area is perfect. No one suspects it to be here and I can house my assassins close by. That's right. More than half of these buildings are home to men and women working under my hand. Whenever you step out of number 19, which is my complex and where you'll be staying, eyes will be on you. You will not be left unguarded for one second so keep that in mind when you're planning your escape attempt.

Alex looked up in alarm when, wondering how Yassen had caught on to his plan so quickly.

"Hahaha, it was just a guess Alex, but by that look I'm guessing it wasn't too far off from reality. After all, I would have been planning an escape attempt myself. You and I are alike Alex, whether you choose to believe it or not."

Yassen turned his back on Alex and proceeded to walk into number 19. He indicated for the guard to bring Alex along.

"You can let me go you know. I'm not going to run anywhere; I've got nowhere to go." Alex spoke up for the first time since having the gag removed. He was tired beyond exhaustion. He truly wasn't going anywhere...tonight.

Yassen turned and looked Alex in the eye, gauging whether the teen was telling the truth or not. He must have seen the tiredness on the teen's face because he nodded at the guard, who released Alex at once.

"Come on Alex, you need to rest. I'll give you the tour tomorrow. And I assure you it's a very...interesting place I have here." Yassen's voice gave Alex a chill down his spine. He could tell now that there was something more than met the eye when it came to number 19.

Alex failed to stifle a yawn and followed Yassen into the complex. He supposed his adventures could wait until tomorrow. For now he was just happy to fall down on the bed Yassen provided him with, even though he was locked in a small room with nothing in it other than the aforementioned bed.

Right before Yassen locked the door behind him, he turned back to Alex

"Oh, I almost forgot Alex. Your training starts tomorrow and I have specifically instructed the trainers not to hold anything back. I need you to be the best of the best Alex; I can see you have that full potential within you. With the right training, you just might get as good as me." Yassen smirked at him and Alex could have sworn he saw him wink.

"Oh...and Alex, don't go anywhere." This time Alex was positive he had seen the assassin wink. For some reason Yassen was in a playful mood. Alex knew that this could only mean something was planned for him tomorrow.

The day to come would definitely be an interesting one.

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Well there it is folks. Its kinda short because i wanted to get it written and published as fast i could. I'm surprised how popular this story seems to be. Its already gotten 600 reads!! Thank you so much to those faithful reviewers you make my day!! I would answer you all here individually but i heard you weren't supposed to and i don't really want to get kicked off the site :P so i'll keep it to a general thankyou. But know that i really o appreciate it and all of your reviews are considered when i'm writing this story. I, of course, know the overall plot of this story and the direction it is going in but i dont have anymore chapters written as of now. So, that being said, i don't know how soon i will be a ble to update. But i will try my best to make it fast for all you faithful readers out there.

Don't forget to review, its what keeps me writing.

constructive critisism and words of advice are welcome. Remember, I'm a fanfiction newb :D


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